Monarch Post

the creative connection event

    (... and a great pair of walking shoes instead of high heels, and a fatter checkbook... but ya, we had the love :) 

It was wonderful! I am so glad I went to the creative connection event. Sorry it has taken me so long to get back here. Extra busy here these past few days. And it always takes me a day or two just to get my feet back on the ground after a trip-- especially a trip like this... there was so much to learn, do and see.  And meeting blog friends for the first time was such a highlight. (Meleen, I love your New York accent, and I could listen to you say "Kwaaffee" all day long.)

My only regret was not taking more photos. I forgot and left my camera in my room one day, and I just didn't seem to be in picture taking mode most of the time. I was in "running to class late" mode most of the time. It was a pretty packed schedule, but in between I took a few photos of the handmade market.


 

I met Jana from brown-eyed girl photography at the TCC.  And if you actually want to see  great professional photography of the event, stop by her blog. She documents it all very well. 

I took only one crafting class, there were so many business classes I wanted to take instead. But the class I did take was wonderful-- making heritage toys with Jenn Murphy and her lovely mom, Pat.

 
I am now the proud new mom of a mohair bunny with fully jointed arms... and a big attitude (we decided :) 

What a whirlwind of a few days.... whew. I've got new wind in my sails-- it was so inspiring to meet so many passionately creative women. Kudos to Jo and Nancy and their army of volunteers!!

*And Kudos to my husband for coming with me (because he knows how much I hate to travel alone) and braving all that estrogen exposure! :)

  

shopping around

For the past few years I've signed up to help with school holiday parties at Jesse's and Sophey's back to school night. But this year all the fill in slots for help were pretty full by the time I got to the sheet. The "provide school supplies" line sounded like a great (ie., easy) idea this year-- and I've always liked being a supply kinda person. Then last week I spotted the black totes at my local craft store... Aha! finally had an idea for a craft project. Yay! (my idea well has been running dry lately), so I bought the totes and hit my studio; thinking pretty, but practical thoughts. 

  

*(This is also counting as my end-of-the-year-teacher-appreciation-gift, since I stink at ever getting anything more than a quick thank you card signed. I have two birthdays that last week of school, so all my good intentions for doing something really nice for our teachers just never quite happen.)*

Anyway, the fabric sewn to the front of the bags is a big pocket. I cut the paisley fabric into a rectangle that fit the bag well and then cut a strip of the brown and black print and the checkered fabric to fit vertically along the side of the bag. I zig-zag stitched the brown fabric onto the paisley fabric first and then zig-zagged the checkered fabric. The vintage lace got stitched on last. I ironed the top of the fabric down about an inch, and ironed the three side edges under about a 1/2".

At this point every extra idea I had to make it look like a teachers bag seemed like a big cliche. Apples? No. Pencils? Nah. Well, what then? So I put the project aside for a few hours (I always think of it like cooking-- on the back-burner and slow simmering..) until this idea came to me: If the kids did the artwork, those pencils or apples would be fabulous, AND they would be involved in the project. Perfect. I handed Jesse and Sophey a box of fabric crayons and fabric pastels with the instructions: draw something school-ish for your teachers, pretty please (followed by please please please).

And they did! Way better than anything I could have ever come up with... kids are so cool.

Jesse's pencil art: 

 

Sophey's schoolhouse art:

The drawings are done on a piece of torn canvas. Sophey used fabric crayons and Jesse used fabric pastels. I sprayed both pieces of canvas art with clear matte spray polyurethane sealer, and then allowed it to dry very well (a few hours) to protect the artwork before sewing the canvas onto the other fabric piece. I added a few big buttons for interest. And then I sewed the whole piece onto the black canvas tote bag. I pinned the fabric in place securely before sewing to make sure the pocket wound up even. It worked. A little tricky and bulky, but still easier than I thought it would be.

Can't wait to hear the tote report after school today :)

In other news around here, I went with my girls to SLC to our big outdoor shopping center, Gateway, over the weekend. We went on a clothes hunt. Didn't find much. It seems the palette for winter this year is black, grey, creme, and black, grey, creme, and dusty rose.... ugh. Not a fan of dusty rose. I think I O.D.ed on it in the '80s. I had a dusty rose bedspread, chair, and waaay too many dusty rose clothes back in the day.

Anyway, a stop by good old bright and happy Anthropologie saved the day. I am always totally inspired by the colors, the displays. SO creative.

 

Dog tea towels?! Man. Eighteen dollars each?! No mon :(

 

So I came home with one little tea cup and a few more bowls. But I'd say my new/old church rummage sale tea towel (compare at 25 pennies, people) is looking pretty darn Anthro cool with the cup, now isn't it?

Sweetness...

 
with a flowery handle. It really is the little things, isn't it? 

And while we're in the kitchen, and I'm writing another catch-up marathon post, here's what got baked last week too. Very yummy. And less sinful than those Oreo cupcakes ;O

 

Here you go:

LOW-FAT PUMPKIN COOKIES:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup brown sugar (I used 3/4 cup- it worked)
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 3 cups oatmeal
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the pumpkin, sugar, and applesauce.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, then add to the pumpkin, mixing well.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until done. Recipe found at About.com

Oh, and I almost forgot. I added my own drizzly frosting made with a pkg of low-fat softened cream cheese and about 2 cups of powdered sugar and a little vanilla. Mix in mixing bowl till smooth, adding a few tsps of milk till its drizzable. (You know what I mean.)

ENJOY!

P.S. I'm gettting ready for the CREATIVE CONNECTION EVENT this Thursday - Sunday in Minneapolis. It's going to be three days filled with arts and crafts and estrogen galore, I'm sure. AND I'm going with Mike, so three days alone with my husband. Wow. Gotta million things to do though. I'll be back with a report on all the wonderfulness early next week.

Have a lovely week, my friends. xxKelly 

 

september time

I'm still here, adjusting, sort of. Last week felt like one huge up-in-the-air readjustment phase. School for two half days, one sick day for a child already. And Mike, well he was away in Costa Rica on a business trip and got seriously sick with a really bad case of food poisoning. That was a week ago last Wednesday. What a helpless feeling to be so far away and unable to do anything but pray for him. His company has a private jet to retrieve sick employees who are doing business in foreign countries, but luckily things didn't get quite that bad. He made it home very late last Friday night. I think he coulda kissed the asphalt at the airport. I was so glad to have him home, safe and recovering.

Pulling weeds would have been good therapy last week, now that I think about it. (I see one in the photo). This week, better, much better. I feel settled in again. Glad for school routines, a well husband at home, and this time of year.

The black-eyed susans in the back yard are wowing me right now... Why do I always forget how nice it is in September?

I forget about the shadows too, and how the light changes. Almost imperceptibly, but then one day you see it, and you know summer is starting to wane. But it's really okay-- I've had my fill of summer this year. (That's a first, btw).

 
I'm missing the neighborhood ballgames in the backyard everyday though. Maybe there'll be a few more when the kids get used to school schedules.

 
Winston misses them too. Last week he walked into the kitchen and dropped a baseball on the floor and looked up at me. I told the kids what he did, so they took him out to play catch. He came in after a couple of throws and sat and stared out the front door. (We have a glass storm door.) I knew what he wanted... another neighborhood ballgame in our backyard. He likes loves to watch the kids play ball while he sits on the hillside by the trees. Perfect stadium seating. Not crowded either.

 
He sits there looking like my china terrier on the kitchen window sill-- only with his tongue hanging out and his eyes glued to a flying baseball. (Smiling too, I'm pretty sure.)

 
So this week I got back to sewing. Sometimes it's just the biggest hurdle for me to get back to making something. It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I get stuck after a long break. Monkeys seemed like the safest place to get going again, so that's what I did... in the kitchen, with a cup of tea and the tv for a few days. It felt like a total luxury, since I haven't watched a thing on tv all summer. (Hannah Montana does not count).

I am so smitten with the Dena Designs fabric in the photo. I don't think fabric for sock monkey clothes can get any more perfect than a red rose cheetah stripe!

 
 
I'm also pretty smitten with my favorite summer yard sale find right now too ($2.50! Unbelievable). Admiring it all week over on the couch while I've stitched. (I've wanted one like this with the black edging for a really long time.) It's perfect for the evenings now. 

 
Looks like my naked sock monkeys on the kitchen counter could use that blanket. Well, it's time to sew clothes next.

In the meantime until I get back to better blogging and projects I've got the best cupcake frosting recipe for you. I made two dozen last Sunday and they were gone in two days. The cupcake is a mix; I just wanted to deal with the fosting recipe.

So anyway, here it is:

OREO COOKIE FROSTING

1 16 oz box powdered sugar

1 8 oz container Cool Whip

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 pkg cream cheese, softened

15 Oreo cookies, crushed

With a mixer, mix together the cream cheese, vanilla and Cool Whip. Gradually add in the powdered sugar. Stir in crushed cookies by hand. (If I had really thought about how simple this was, I probably could have handled some homemade cupcakes. Duh. Oh well.) This stuff is like clouds... clouds filled with Oreos and a choir of singing cherub angels. 

You'd like it :)

Happy Labor Day weekend!! xoKelly